If you’ve noticed a leak in your gutters recently, you may have a hole or a tear that’s compromising their integrity. Luckily, patching a gutter hole is an easy task and only requires a few materials and some time out of your day. Here, our gutter repair experts tell you how to do it:

1. First, determine where your gutter leak is.
2. Turn on your garden hose and aim it so that the water fills up your gutters.
3. Make a note of where the water leaks out.
4. Next, place your ladder against the side of your home.
5. Put on your gloves to protect yourself from any sharp gutter edges.
6. After that, climb up to the gutter leak area and detach the piece of gutter that’s affected.
7. Using your screwdriver, unscrew the screws that hold the gutter hangers in place.
8. Next, carefully lower the piece of gutter to the ground.
9. Locate the hole or tear in the gutter.
10. If there is rust in the area, use a piece of sandpaper to sand away as much rust as possible.
11. Clean the area with a wet cloth and let it dry completely.
12. After that, cut your piece of roof flashing to be as large as the area plus about 1″ of overhang.
13. Spread a coat of roof patch cement on the patch, then place the patch over the area inside of the gutter.
14. If cement oozes out, use your putty knife to spread it around the area evenly.
15. Allow the cement to dry completely, then test the patch before reattaching your gutter. (You can do this by filling the gutter with water and watching the area to see if it still leaks.)
16. Once your patch is dry, reattach your gutter using the screws you removed and your screwdriver.